University of California, Davis Office of Student Judicial Affairs

Avoiding PLAGIARISM
Mastering the Art of Scholarship

In writing, we draw upon others’ words and ideas and the intellectual heritage underlying
human progress. Scholarship entails researching, understanding, and building upon the
work of others, but also requires that proper credit be given for any “borrowed” material.
Under our Code of Academic Conduct, UC Davis students are responsible for ethical
scholarship, and for knowing what plagiarism is and how to avoid it.

What is plagiarism? Why be concerned about plagiarism?

Plagiarism means using another’s work without
giving credit. If you use others’ words, you must
put them in quotation marks and cite your source.
You must also give citations when using others’
ideas, even if you have paraphrased those ideas in
your own words.
“Work” includes the words and ideas of others, as well
as art, graphics, computer programs, music, and other
creative expression. The work may consist of writing,
charts, data, graphs, pictures, diagrams, websites,
movies, TV broadcasts, or other communication
media.
The term “source” includes published works -- books,
magazines, newspapers, textbooks, websites, movies,
photos, paintings, plays -- and unpublished sources
(e.g., materials from a research service, blogs, class
handouts, lectures, notes, speeches, or other students’
papers). Using words, ideas, computer code, or any
work without giving proper credit is plagiarism. Any
time you use information from a source, of any kind,
you must cite it.
* If you plagiarize, you are cheating yourself. You don’t
learn to write out your thoughts in your own words, and
you won’t receive specific feedback from your instructor
geared to your individual needs and skills.
* Plagiarism is dishonest and/or misleading, because it
misrepresents the work of another as your own.
* Plagiarism violates the Code of Academic Conduct
and can lead to Suspension or Dismissal.
* Plagiarism devalues others’ original work. Using and
submitting a professional’s work as your own is taking
an unfair advantage over students who do their own
work.
* It is wrong to take or use property (an author’s work)
without giving the owner the credit due. Further,
copyright violations can result in damages, fines, or
worse.
* The reputation of UC Davis affects the value of your
degree; student dishonesty hurts UCD’s standing and
can diminish the worth of your diploma.

How to Cite Sources

One citation method is to identify the source in the text, putting the author’s last name and publication year in
parenthesis and giving the page number where the cited information appears. (Hacker, 2003, p. 391). The author’s
name links the reader to a list at the end of the paper giving full publishing information. Example:
Sources Cited:
Hacker, D., A Writer’s Reference, 5th Ed. (Bedford/St. Martin’s Press 2003) pp. 391-2.

Two other methods are footnotes and endnotes, which use raised numbers at the end of an idea or quoted words to link
the reader to the source which is given either at the bottom of the page (footnote) or at the end of the paper (endnote).
For all three methods, you must include the source in a reference list at the end of the paper, fully identifying each
source by author’s name, title, publisher’s name, year of publication, and page numbers. Citations to electronic
resources such as websites should include the exact URL, the date last revised, and any available information about the
writer, publisher and/or creator of the site.
Resources on citation include:
• MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 6th ed., J. Gibaldi (Modern Language Assn. 2003)
• Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th Ed., American Psychological Association (2001)
• UC Berkeley Teaching Library Internet Workshops “Style Sheets for Citing Resources (Print & Electronic)”
at http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/Style.html
How can you avoid plagiarism?
Know what plagiarism is: ignorance will not excuse a
violation. Intentional plagiarism, such as deliberate
copying or use of another’s work without credit,
submitting a paper from the Internet as one’s own, or
altering or falsifying citations to hide sources is very
serious, likely to result in Suspension. Unintentional
plagiarism may result from not knowing how to cite
sources properly, sloppy research and note-taking, or
careless cutting and pasting from electronic resources
– it is still a violation of the Code of Academic Conduct
and subject to discipline.
Guidelines for Avoiding Plagiarism1
* Use your own words and ideas. Practice is essential to
learning. Each time you choose your words, order
your thoughts, and convey your ideas, you can
improve your writing.
* Give credit for copied, adapted, or paraphrased
material. If you copy and use another’s exact
words, you must use quotation marks and cite the
source. If you adapt a chart or paraphrase a
sentence, you must still cite your source.
Paraphrasing is restating the author’s ideas,
information, and meaning in your own words (see
examples).
* Avoid using others work with minor “cosmetic”
c h a n g e s . Examples: using “less” for “fewer,”
reversing the order of a sentence, changing terms in
a computer code, or altering a spreadsheet layout. If
the work is essentially the same as your source, give
credit.
* There are no “freebies.” Always cite words,
information and ideas that you use if they are new to
you (learned in your research). No matter where
you find it – even in on the Internet or in an
encyclopedia – you cite it!
* Beware of “common knowledge.” You may not have
to cite “common knowledge,” but the fact must
really be commonly known. That George Orwell
was the author of the anti-totalitarian allegory
Animal Farm is common knowledge; that Orwell
died at age 46 in 1951 is not.2
* When in doubt, cite. Better to be safe than not give
credit when you should!
1
See Henderickson, R.J., The Research Paper (Henry Holt and
Company, 1957, xiv-xv; McGill University “Student Guide to
Avoid Plagiarism,” last updated 8/22/06
http://www.mcgill.ca/integrity/studentguide/
2 3
Bowker, G., Inside George Orwell (Palgrave MacMillan 2003)
p. 420
Getting Help: Read the syllabus and assignment; ask your instructor how to cite sources; and carefully check class rules on citation
format. Use resources such as Brenda Spatt’s Writing from Sources (Bedford, Freeman & Worth 2003) and Diana Hacker’s A Writer’s Reference,
cited above. In addition, contact the UC Davis Learning Skills Center at 530-752-2013 http://www.lsc.ucdavis.edu/ For questions contact
Student Judicial Affairs, (530) 752-1128 or visit http://sja.ucdavis.edu
Examples
Citing a source for factual information:
In describing the personal circumstances and political beliefs of author
George Orwell at the time he wrote his greatest novel, 1984, I have relied
upon the factual account given in Gordon Bowker’s biography Inside
George Orwell.”
Here the source is identified in the text, and page citations for any
quotes or ideas can be given at the end of the material used.
Additional citations to the source, with page numbers, are required
to reference facts or quotations used later in the paper.
Paraphrase vs. Plagiarism
Original Source: ‘[A totalitarian] society … can never permit either
the truthful recording of facts, or the emotional sincerity, that
literary creation demands. … Totalitarianism demands … the
continuous alteration of the past, and in the long run … a disbelief
in the very existence of objective truth.’ 3
Student Version A -- Plagiarism
A totalitarian society can never permit the truthful recording of facts;
it demands the continuous alteration of the past, and a disbelief in the
very existence of objective truth.
This is plagiarism; the student has combined copied pieces of the
author’s language, without quotation marks or citations.
Student Version B -- Improper paraphrase, also plagiarism
A totalitarian society can’t be open-minded or allow the truthful
recording of facts, but instead demands the constant changing of the
past and a distrust of the very existence of objective truth. (Orwell)
This is plagiarism because the student has woven together sentences
and switched a few words (“open-minded” for “tolerant,” “allow”
for “permit”) has left out some words, and has given an incomplete
and inaccurate citation.
Student Version C -- Appropriate paraphrase, not plagiarism
Orwell believed that totalitarian societies must suppress literature
and free expression because they cannot survive the truth, and thus
they claim it does not exist. (Bowker) pp. 336-337
This student has paraphrased using her own words, accurately
reflecting and citing the author’s ideas.
Student Version D -- Quotation with cite, not plagiarism
In his biography of George Orwell, Gordon Bowker discusses the
themes of 1984, quoting a 1946 essay by Orwell: “’Totalitarianism
demands … the continuous alteration of the past, and in the long run
… a disbelief in the very existence of objective truth.’” (Bowker p.
337, quoting Orwell, 1946)
By introducing his source, the student signals that the following
material is from that source. Verbatim words are in quotation
marks, omitted words are marked by ellipses (…), and both the
book used and the original source of the quote are cited.
Bowker p. 337, quoting Orwell, G., “The Prevention of Literature,” Polemic, No.
2, January 1946
UC Davis, Div. of Student Affairs, Office of Student Judicial Affairs, September 2006